Skin Care :: Essential to your overall well being

Skin Care- Your Best Defense Against Aging

We’ve all heard “The best offense is a great defense”. This strategy certainly applies to your skin.

The information on this page is essential for anyone who would like to:

• Retain a youthful look
• Slow the progression of skin aging
• Regain luminous skin and correct skin damage
• Decrease the risk of skin cancer
• Take control over conditions such as acne, skin discolorations, melasma, and rosacea
• Improve your skin’s texture, tone, or pore size
• Care for skin which is dry, oily, normal, sensitive, or a combination of these
• Maintain your renewed look after a rejuvenation procedure

Why it’s so important

The rate of skin cancer has increased 30% in the last 20 years, and the depletion of the ozone layer may further accelerate this to epidemic proportions. The skin is the body’s largest organ. It is the barrier which protects our entire body from external insults such as heat, cold, harmful sun rays, pollutants, germs and diseases. The skin regulates body temperature, stores water, allows us to interpret our environment by delivering sensations of pain or pleasure, and is an important pathway for the elimination of toxic substances from or bodies.

Why EMBODY Medical Spa?

The skin is also our most visible organ. Thus, the signs of aging are most readily apparent on the skin’s surface.

Life expectancy has increased, while our skin is aging more rapidly than ever due to increased environmental insults.

There is no question that the way we feel about ourselves, the way we “carry” ourselves, our confidence level, our attitude, our self-esteem, and our social ability are all directly related to how we evaluate our appearance. When you look good, you feel good! It is also a fact that a youthful appearance is highly regarded in today’s society.

Don’t be disheartened! At EMBODY Medical Spa we will provide you with the services, products, and education to restore, maintain, and protect your skin and your appearance.

The aging skin

Our skin is in a constant state of regeneration and repair. As we age, this process slows down.

• The supportive structures decrease causing the skin to become less firm and sag. Lines, wrinkles, creases, and folds begin to appear.
• Subcutaneous fat pads shrink and shift resulting in a “hollowed”
appearance.
• Sun damage becomes apparent as freckles, age spots, actinic keratoses, and other discolorations appear.
• Texture changes occur. In some areas the skin becomes thicker and “leathery”, while in other areas it becomes thinner and translucent.
• The ability to produce melanin to protect the skin from harmful sun rays decreases with age
• The production of Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF) decreases with aging. The skin is unable to retain as much moisture and becomes drier.
• The skin begins to lose its luminous qualities and starts to look sallow, or unhealthy.

There are two determining factors in skin aging. Intrinsic factors include genetics and habits such as smoking and poor nutrition. Extrinsic Factors are the main cause of skin aging, and by far the greatest single factor is sun exposure. It’s estimated that 80% of skin aging is caused by exposure to harmful sun rays.

What can you do about it?

At EMBODY Medical Spa we provide a number of services to restore your skin to a healthier, clearer, younger looking, and more luminous state. You can learn more about the individual services on our other web pages, or by stopping in for a free consultation.

The procedures we offer will correct the issues that concern you. However, life long skin rejuvenation requires not only restorative or maintenance procedures, it also requires an appropriate home skin care program. At EMBODY Medical Spa, we carry the best skin care products available. Our knowledgeable staff is able to teach you about the correct skin care products for your particular skin type.

Important things to consider when choosing skin care products

Good skin care products do much more than just clean and moisturize skin. They are actually active on your skin to make it healthier, smoother, and more vibrant. Furthermore, they are not “one size fits all”. Specific products are designed to care for specific types of skin.

Cleansers, Vitamin C, and Moisturizers

Normal skin has an acidic mantel to provide a protective barrier function. Most soaps and cleansers available in stores are alkaline. Thus, these products will strip away the protective acidic mantel. This overly dries the skin and makes it contract. After washing with soap, it may seem as though your skin is clean because it feels tight, but this is actually not healthy for your skin. Acidic cleansers will not only protect the acid mantel, but they will also clean your skin better.
We don’t all have the same type of skin. You may have sensitive, normal, dry, or oily skin, or even any combination of these.

With this information we can determine:

• How acidic your cleanser should be
• Whether your cleanser should be a cream, gel, solution, or foam
• Whether it should contain glycolic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, or isohexadecane and in what strength
• Whether your cleanser should contain a moisturizer

Similarly, there are a lot of vitamin C products out there. Topical vitamin C is excellent for the skin, both as a very potent anti-oxidant, and as a necessary factor in collagen formation. However, there are different strengths and different forms of vitamin C. The appropriate strength and form for you depends on what type of skin you have.

Our skin has a self-moisturizer. It is called Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF). Unfortunately, this factor decreases markedly with aging and from repetitive exposure to soaps. Thus, the appropriate topical moisturizer is very essential to maintaining your skin’s hydration.

By the way, drinking more water is not an effective way to hydrate your skin. The vast majority of the water you take in is used up in other tissues, or eliminated. The best way to hydrate the skin is with a topical moisturizer. Your moisturizer formulation must also be based on what type of skin you have, and should contain anti-oxidants like selenium, vitamin E, or green tea.

Sunscreens/Sunblocks

Sunscreens are divided into two types, chemical sunscreens and physical sunblocks. Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing UV radiation, a process which can actually create free radicals which are damaging to the skin. Physical sunblocks work by blocking the UV rays and reflecting them away from the skin. Zinc and Titanium are the only physical sunblocks. However, Titanium reflects only 30% of the rays and absorbs the other 70%. Thus, the safest, most effective way to protect your skin from the sun is with a Zinc sunblock.

Based on extensive market research, we are proud to carry “UV Natural” at EMBODY Medical Spa. This product is all natural and contains the highest level of protection available with 24% zinc. It’s even safe for use on babies

Our sun emits 3 harmful UV rays: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVC rays are the most damaging. The ozone layer absorbs the majority of the UVC rays. However, with the depletion of the ozone layer the exposure to these rays is becoming more significant. UVB rays are responsible for sunburns and our exposure to these rays is greatest through the mid-day. UVB rays do not typically pass through glass. UVA rays do pass through glass, and we are exposed to these harmful rays outdoors or in (unless you’re in a windowless room), rain or shine, throughout the daylight hours. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB rays, and are associated with wrinkling and leathering of the skin. Your sunscreen should provide protection against UVA, UVB, and probably UVC rays. SPF, or Sun Protection Factor, is a confusing, misleading, outdated method of classifying a sunscreens’ “strength”. An SPF of 30 means that if one can normally stay in the sun for ~ 20 minutes before the skin starts to redden, then with an SPF 30 sunscreen you should be protected for 30 times longer, or 10 hours.

First of all, the whole system is based only on UVB exposure. It doesn’t account for our much greater exposure to UVA rays at all. Second, you should never be in the sun for more than 3-4 hours before re-applying sunscreen. Third, the level of protection actually plateaus at ~SPF 30, so don’t waste money on products that are marketed for an SPF > 35.

Mineral Makeup

Mineral makeup is made from natural, finely ground minerals from the earth. It is based on hypoallergenic powders and doesn’t contain the perfumes, dyes, alcohol, talc or preservatives found in commercial makeup.
It doesn’t have the “mask-like” quality of commercial make up, nor does it clog pores. It tends to be much better tolerated by people with sensitive skin, allergies, acne prone skin, or rosacea.

Commercial makeup can “cake” in fine lines and wrinkles, which makes them more apparent. This isn’t the case with mineral makeup. Furthermore, mineral makeup contains zinc oxide, which is an excellent sunblock and anti-inflammatory. Thus, mineral makeup can actually help heal your skin, and help keep it healthy.

EMBODY offers the best skin care products available

• Obagi®
• SkinMedica®
• PCA Skin®
• Color Science®
• UV Natural®

At EMBODY Medical Spa, we want to help you take great care of your skin for life. In addition to the corrective services we provide, we carry the best skin care products available: Obagi, SkinMedica, Colorescience, and UV Natural.
Whether you come in for a procedure, or just want to come in for a free consultation, our knowledgeable staff will be happy to educate you on the best skin care program and products for you. At EMBODY Medical Spa, we are passionate about your skin.

For more information on skin care, products, or services, please contact us at EMBODY Medical Spa.

Give Embody a call today to set up your free consultation for any of their non-invasive medical spa procedures. You can also request a consultation online by clicking here.

Medical Spa Special	Featured Treatment
Visia Complexion Analysis is this month's featured special. A full VISIA® skin analysis, interpretation, and digital photographs, are available for $75. However, the price of your first procedure will then be reduced by $75. View Details•••	Radiesse® is a dermal filler which delivers longer lasting results. It is used to eradicate wrinkles, lines, and folds, as well as volumize, restore, or augment cheek and chin structure. Radiesse® also stimulates new collagen. View Details•••